Horizontal kneeler



Nov. 22, 1966 c. J. BARECKI ETAL 3,287,065

HORIZONTAL KNEELER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 001;. 28. 1965 INVENTOR Chester J. Barecki 7 James R. Shore BY JQ/lim), ATTORNEYS WITNESS 1966 c. J. BARECKI ETAL 3,287,065

HORIZONTAL KNEELER Filed Oct. 28, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Chester J. Borecki FIG. James 'R. Shore WITNESS BY www, JJltbm Zalfmu,

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,287,065 HORIZONTAL KNEELER Chester J. Barecki, Grand Rapids, and James R. Shore,

Belding, Mich, assignors to American Seating Company, Grand Rapids, Mich., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Oct. 28, 1965, Ser. No. 505,554 4 Claims. (Cl. 297426) This invention relates to a horizontal kneeler, and more particularly to a kneeler structure adapted to be used below pew seats for movement into raised and lowered positions with the kneeler board supported by depending legs.

In present-day kneeler structures, the kneeler board or pad is supported on feet which extend at right angles to the board, and when the board is swung upwardly on support arms, the feet project rearwardly toward the user, thus presenting a hazard and taking up space while the board lies in a vertical position. From its elevated position, the board moves downwardly in various angular positions, reaching the horizontal position only when the supporting feet meet the floor.

An object of the present invention is to provide a kneeler structure in which the kneeler board remains in a horizontal plane in both raised and lowered positions, as well as in intermediate positions, while at the same time the feet remain compactly stored below the horizontal board. A further object is to provide a kneeler structure in which support bars or links are arranged in parallel for maintaining the kneeler board constantly in a horizontal position. A still further object is to provide in such a structure one of the links in the form of a cover enclosing the other supporting link. Yet another object is to provide an assembly in which the cover link is united with an anti-torsion cross tube for bringing about uniform movement of the kneeler structure. Another object is to provide spring counterbalance means housed within the cross tube. Other specific objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds.

The invention is shown, in illustrative embodiments, by the accompanying drawings, in which- FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a kneeler mounted under the seat of a pew and upon a floor-supported base; FIG. 2, a broken top plan view of a kneeler supported on the left side upon a floor base and on the right side by a support bracket secured to the pedestal of a pew; FIG. 3, a broken perspective view on an enlarged scale of the structure shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 4, a broken detail perspective view on an enlarged scale showing the structure at the right-hand side of FIG. 2; FIG. 5, a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the kneeler in lowered or use position; FIG. 6, a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the kneeler in lowered or use position; FIG. 7, a side view in elevation of the kneeler supported upon a floor base, the position of the kneeler being shown in intermediate and raised positions in phantom lines; FIG. 8, a transverse sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line 8-8 of FIG. 7; FIG. 9, a broken top plan view, partly in section, the view being taken as indicated at line 9-9 of FIG. 7; FIG. 10, a broken sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at line 1t)10 of FIG. 7; FIG. 11, a broken detail sectional view, the section being at right angles to the section shown in FIG. 10; FIG. 12, an end view of a bearing plate, the view being taken as indicated at line 1212 of FIG. 10; FIG. 13, a broken side view in elevation of a base support mounted on the left pew pedestal; and FIG. 14, a view similar to FIG. 13, the base support being mounted on the right pedestal of the pew.

In the illustration given, A designates a pew equipped with a back and seat and supported upon pedestals B. 10 designates a floor base or bracket adapted to be 3,287,065 Patented Nov. 22, 1966 anchored to the floor of the church, etc., and provided with an upwardly-extending flange 11.

As shown best in FIGS. 7 and 9, the flange structure 11 provides a support for a pair of link members. One of the link members is in the nature of a cover link 12 which is pivotally mounted upon the base flange 11 by the pivot pin 13. The shape of the cover link 12 is shown best in FIG. 8. The lower end of the U-shaped cover link 12 is closed by a bottom fitting 12a. Within the cover link 12 extends a bar link 14 which extends in parallel arrangement with the cover link 12 and the link 14 is connected to a reduced portion of the flange 11 by a pivot pin 15, as shown best in the broken-away area in FIG. 9.

As shown in FIG. 7, the cover link 12 and the bar link 14 extend upwardly and are pivotally connected at their upper ends to a kneeler board support 16. The kneeler board support 16 has a downwardly-extending flange 17. As shown best in FIG. 7, the link 14 is connected to the flange by pivot pin 18. Integrally formed with each flange 17 and the board support 16 is a depending leg 19 equipped with a base tip 20.

The cover link 12 on each side of the kneeler is preferably welded at its upper end to a cross tube 21 which resists torsion. The tube and the cover link members 12 are rotatably mounted on the board support 16 in the manner best shown in FIG. 10. A hearing member 22 is mounted within a recess 23 with which the member 16 is provided and the bearing member extends inwardly enough to support the cover link 12 and tube 21. We provide means for locking the bearing 22 against rotation. A hearing plate 24 is provided with a hexagonal recess which receives the hexagonal end 25 of the bearing 22 and is clamped thereon by means of a Washer 26 and a screw 27 engaging a tapped recess in the bearing 22. The other end of the bearing plate 24 is anchored by screw 28 engaging a tapped recess in the flange 17 of member 16.

From the foregoing, it will be noted that the cover link 12 on each side of the kneeler forms a rigid assembly with the cross tube 21 and that these parts rotate upon the bearing members 22 supported at each end of the kneeler.

The supports 16 carry the kneeler board 29 and may be secured thereto by screws 29a, or by other suitable means.

As shown best in FIGS. 10 and 11, a torsion spring 31 is mounted within the cross tube 21 and has one curved end fixed to the tube by means of a bearing plug 30 and the other end fixed to the bearing member 22. In the illustration given, the bearing 22 is provided with a slot 32 for receiving the arcuate end of the spring 31 and the bearing 30 is also provided with a slot 33 for receiving the curved other end of the spring 31. The bearing 36 is fixed within the tube by means of a pin 34.

In the assembly of the structure, the position of the inner bearing 30 is determined beforehand and it is held in place by means of a jig at the correct distance and angle while a hole is drilled through the tube and bearing to receive the roll pin 34. Thereafter, the other end of the spring is located within the slot of bearing 22, and the bearing 22 is rotated a predetermined distance to tension the spring as desired and the plate 24 is then secured in position, as shown in FIG. 10.

In the foregoing description, the kneeler has been described as mounted upon a floor bracket or base 10. For some installations, it is preferred to mount the support brackets upon the pedestals B of the pew A. Such supports are shown in detail in FIGS. 13 and 14, FIG. 13 showing the left pew mounting bracket and FIG. 14 showing the right pew mounting bracket. The bracket, as shown best in FIG. 13, has a flange 35 bolted to the pedestal B and provided with a tubular support 36 to which the cover link 12b is mounted. A shorter support 37 provides a base for supporting the bar link 1411. In this structure, the cover link 12b is cut away on the side adjacent the support 37. The structure shown in FIG. 14 is the same except that it is a right-hand support for the cover bar 12b and the link bar 14a. Itjwill be understood that the kneeler may be entirely floor-supported, entirely pew-supported, or supported by a combination of the two.

While we have shown a single torsion spring 31 in the cross tube 21, it 'will be understood that more than one spring may be employed and the size, length, twist and the number of springs will depend upon the length of the kneeler, etc. For example, a very short kneeler may require only one spring of small diameter and short length, with a moderate twist or torsional bend. An extremely long kneeler may require two springs, one at each end, of heavy wire, longer length, and with a greater degree of twist.

Operation In the operation of the structure, the parallel links consisting of cover link 12 and bar link 14 are effective in causing the kneeler 'board 29 to move always in a horizontal plane, as shown in the solid and dotted lines in FIG. 7, while at the same time the depending legs 19 remain in the compact, downwardly-extending position shown. The kneeler may be moved to an intermediate position, as shown in FIG. 7, where it will remain, or it may be moved to the vertical position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 7 and it will be supported in such position. In the vertical position shown in FIG. 7, the cover link 12 fitting tightly against the back side of the floor mounting base or bracket forms an upper stop.

In the operation of the kneeler, the user may allow the kneeler board 29 to remain in the intermediate position so that it may quickly be lowered to position on the floor, or he may raise the kneeler board to the vertical position. In either operation, the cross tube 21 causes the structure to move in unison, and any portion of the board 29 may be grasped to efiect movement of the entire kneeler.

While, in the foregoing specification, we have set forth specific structure in considerable detail for the purpose of illustrating embodiments of the invention, it will be understood that such details may be varied widely by those skilled in the art Without departing from the spirit of our invention.

We claim:

1. In a kneeler structure comprising a kneeler board and kneeler board supports equipped with depending legs and a pair of spaced base supports, link mechanism for maintaining said Lkneeler board in horizontal position in upper and lower positions, said mechanism comp-rising a cover link and an enclosed bar link in vertically-spaced, parallel arrangement, the links being connected at their lower ends to said base supports and at their upper ends to said board support, a cross tube connecting the cover links, and a torsion spring mounted within said tube with one end fixed to said tube and the other end rigidly held within the board support.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which the torsion spring is provided with arcuate ends, one end being received within a slot of a bearing member pinned to said tube and the other end being received within a slot of a hearing member rotatably mounted within said tube and within said board support.

3. The structure of claim 2 in which said last-mentioned bearing member is fixed to a plate and said plate is releasably anchored to said board support.

4. In a kneeler structure comprising a kneeler board and kneeler board supports equipped with depending leg and a pair of spaced base supports, link mechanism for maintaining said kneeler board in horizontal position in upper and lower positions, said mechanism comprising on each side of said kneeler board a cover link and-a bar link in vertically-spaced, parallel arrangement, the links being connected at their lower ends to said base supports and 1 at their upper ends to said board support, said cover link being open at each end but being closed at its upper and lower sides for complete enclosure ofthe major portion of the bar link, a cross tube connecting said cover links, and a torsion spring mounted within said tube with one end fixed to said tube and the other end rigidly held within the board support.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Examiner. 

1. IN A KNEELER STRUCTURE COMPRISING A KNEELER BOARD AND KNEELER BOARD SUPPORTS EQUIPPED WITH DEPENDING LEGS AND PAIR OF SPACED BASE SUPPORTS, LINK MECHANISM FOR MAINTAINING SAID KNEELER BOARD IN HORIZONTAL POSITION IN UPPER AND LOWER POSITIONS, SAID MECHANISM COMPRISING A COVER LINK AND AN ENCLOSED BAR LINK IN VERTICALLY-SPACED, PARALLEL ARRANGEMENT, THE LINKS BEING CONNECTED AT THEIR LOWER ENDS TO SAID BASE SUPPORTS AND AT THEIR UPPER ENDS TO SAID BOARD SUPPORT, A CROSS TUBE CONNECTING THE COVER LINKS, AND A TORSIJON SPRING MOUNTED WITHIN SAID TUBE WITH ONE END FIXED TO SAID TUBE AN THE OTHER END RIGIDLY HELD WITHIN THE BOARD SUPPORT. 